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Show HN: Software to give insurance advice like an agent would

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Re: Show HN: Software to give insurance advice like an agent would

#41

Post by phonon »

Your T&C are poor.

"[add if applicable];"

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Re: Show HN: Software to give insurance advice like an agent would

#42

Post by phonon »

chrisplotz wrote: post #9
tgb wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I was just within the last hour look at renter's insurance, so I appreciate the goal of the company. It doesn't look like you currently give advice for people comparing different offers - is that something you plan to do? Also, I didn't understand your description of "returning any unclaimed premium back to customers, keeping a fee instead". Being not too familiar with insurance, can you give an example of how this w…

Thanks - and good luck with your renters insurance search. You're right we don't currently give advice for comparing through the tool - but I've written about it on our blog, and have a even more low tech comparison tool there (google sheet!). https://blog.goodcover.com/save-time-and-buy-home-condo-rent... Hopefully that could help you out in the mean time. Regarding returning unclaimed premium - good question. The w…

> So we want to give that 5-15% back in the good years where we don't need it to pay claims.

Isn't that what Lemonade initially tried to do? They ended up having to go to their charity angle because of rebate laws. How do you think you are different? Mutuals do not seem to have a competitive advantage when it comes to Loss Ratios...what is your thesis exactly? Not to mention Lemonade is running at almost 3x their filed Loss Ratio now.

End of the day, personal lines is a very competitive market, where insurers are happy to get a net ~95% combined ratio (including CAT). Why would you think you will do better?

Re: Show HN: Software to give insurance advice like an agent would

#43

Post by phonon »

chrisplotz wrote: post #34
SmellTheGlove wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What will you do in a bad year when a couple of cats drive your loss ratio north of 110%? I imagine the answer to that is a big part of the regulatory challenge! I wish you the best, I do like your goal. I spent almost 15 years from post-college to ~present in insurance before moving on recently to something else here in SF. Ping me if you ever need anything or just want to bullshit about the industry :)

Awesome, I will - thanks! Property insurance attritional losses are fairly predictable, and reinsurance is there to smooth out Catastrophe loss years; they'll be there to support us and bring our Loss Ratio back under control. So key is to charge enough to cover attritional (i.e. predictable) losses + reinsurance premiums. But yes in those bad years where there's no UW profit, there's no dividend - everyone's contrib…

If you're covering CAT risk 100% using reinsurers, you are at a competitive disadvantage compared to insurers who can cover some of that risk themselves...reinsurers have their own returns they look for.

Re: Show HN: Software to give insurance advice like an agent would

#44

Post by lucasjans »

If you focus on the risk management side of personal lines I think you're going to have a hard time to scale. The problem is most consumers don't care enough about coverage to shop for it. What attracts new clients is price, price, price. Clients unfortunately won't worry coverage until they really need it. The problem with focusing on price is you'll attract clients who won't renew after 3-5 years, messing up the retention numbers. Navigating the balance between those two will be critical.

Now there is some space in the high-end personal lines for focus on protection. But there you're competing against entrenched insurance agents.

Small commercial is also a very interesting space to explore. Protection is much more important for these people and the sales process is easier to automate (than med/large commercial.)

---

I sold my startup in this space last year. We provided marketing automation for agents. Feel free to reach out.

Re: Show HN: Software to give insurance advice like an agent would

#45

Post by nickphx »

ddispaltro wrote: post #28
nickphx wrote: post #27

After uploading pdf from farmers I was told to click a link to verify my email address. I clicked the link and was taken to a page that told me to check my email and click the link. :D I refreshed the same page and the instructions updated.

It's eventually consistent :) I'll add it as a bug, thanks!

Have you considered interfacing with the third party insurance customer sites to retrieve the insurance documents to process?

Re: Show HN: Software to give insurance advice like an agent would

#46

Post by ddispaltro »

arikr wrote: post #39

Suggestion: Show an example of the type of advice that it can automatically give on the homepage. I clicked through to the homepage but didn't necessarily believe that the automated advice could be great so I wasn't motivated enough to dig up a policy of mine and upload. Would be great to see the sort of advice/info it can give, presented as soon as you hit the advice page.

Yeah that's a great idea. Thanks!

Re: Show HN: Software to give insurance advice like an agent would

#47

Post by secabeen »

chrisplotz wrote: post #38
secabeen wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah, the HNW policies are also stupid expensive. AAA was the only provider for normal people I found that still offered it. Extended replacement cost theoretically does the job, but in coastal california, we're already looking at rebuild costs in the $300+/sqft level. Add in the cost increase from labor shortages, and I could see it spiking significantly above that. (Looking at my policy, I see the Extended Replacem…

Yes, you're right - "abnormal" is a bit in the eye of the beholder. It would have been a relative assessment - a 3k deductible is much more than most people carry (even HNW, an area I've worked in before). On guessing rebuild, in CA you shouldn't have to guess, as it's the insurer's legal requirement to recommend something accurate, and the DOI supports the consumer there. Generally those increases will do the job on…

Ahh, good to know that the DOI has some teeth on the accuracy of the recommendations. That makes me more comfortable to take the extended replacement. Still frustrated that I can't just sell that risk to an insurer. After all if GR has caused big claim headaches in the past, and ER wouldn't have had those headaches, wouldn't that be to the customer's benefit to have GR?

Re: Show HN: Software to give insurance advice like an agent would

#48

Post by jharger »

cosmie wrote: post #30
jharger wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Doesn't renter's insurance only cover the stuff you have inside your residence, not the actual unit itself? Why would the landlord care if you had that coverage?

There are two primary coverage types under renter's insurance policies: liability and personal property. The liability coverage triggers for anything from people getting hurt on the property to (other) people's stuff accidentally getting damaged on the property. Basically anything anyone could sue you to pay for if it occurs on the property. The personal property coverage is what covers your stuff if anything happens…

Ah gotcha. It's been 14 years since I rented, so I don't really remember any of the details of renters insurance. As a homeowner, I totally get that.

Re: Show HN: Software to give insurance advice like an agent would

#49

Post by ddispaltro »

nickphx wrote: post #45
ddispaltro wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's eventually consistent :) I'll add it as a bug, thanks!

Have you considered interfacing with the third party insurance customer sites to retrieve the insurance documents to process?

I would love any such integration. But coverage-wise I think it's easier to do a simple upload at the moment.

Re: Show HN: Software to give insurance advice like an agent would

#50

Post by chrisplotz »

phonon wrote: post #41

Your T&C are poor. "[add if applicable];" "You are granted a limited, non-exclusive right to create a text hyperlink to the Site for noncommercial purposes, provided such link does not portray Goodcover or any of its products and services in a false, misleading, derogatory or otherwise defamatory manner...This limited right may be revoked at any time." "You acknowledge and agree that any materials, including but not…

Thanks for the feedback, happy to consider. Could you be more specific about what you would expect? That would help us make adjustments.
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